Tag Archives: Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy’s family to raise funds for COPD Foundation

Leonard Nimoy’s granddaughter, who has an online retail store dedicated to her grandfather, announced she will have special Live Long and Prosper shirts available (SHOPLLAP.com, ) to raise money specifically for the COPD Foundation.

His granddaughter, Dani Schwartz announced:

“Hi all, as you all know, my Grandpa passed away this morning at 8:40 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” Schwartz wrote. “He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author — the list goes on — and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP.”

CBS collected a bunch of tweets Nimoy made urging people to quit smoking during the final year of his life. Nimoy disclosed in February 2014 he had COPD caused by smoking 30 years ago.

Nimoy only took to Twitter to promote his granddaughter’s online business selling Leonard Nimoy T-shirts and other products.

Here was the tweet that cracked me up the most. From Star Trek IV, a movie Nimoy directed. In a brief scene, an Earth-bound character is wearing a big button that reads: “I Quit Smoking.” Nimoy disclosed he purposely sneaked that into the movie. I never knew that before.

Sad, sad news. I had a bad feeling a few days ago when I read a story that Leonard Nimoy was ill.

Leonard Nimoy died today at the age of 83 after battling COPD. In an interview on Piers Morgan roughly a year ago, Nimoy disclosed that he had been diagnosed with COPD. His voice was more gravelly than usual and several times he had to stop and clear his voice. It was obvious he was in a deep stage of it. If you watch the video, you will notice that he has an oxygen apparatus on the table in front of him, but that he was able to talk several minutes without it.

He spoke about smoking. He smoked at least two packs a day, calling himself an “Olympic championship smoker,” talked about how when he was in the military, representatives from the tobacco industry actually gave away cigarettes to the soldiers, talked about the old Camel doctor ads. He also quit 30 years ago, but he was one of the unlucky ones who still developed COPD.

Nimoy’s message: “It’s not too early to quit. The damage is being done right now to your lung cells.” Don’t wait five years, don’t wait 10 years. Quit now.

In the Piers Morgan interview, he said his initial reaction after being diagnosed was dismay.

“This is unfair. I quit a long time ago. Why is this happening to me?” Nimoy said.

It is unfair. Nimoy spent the last year or so of his life speaking out against tobacco and smoking. He had a goof life, cut short too soon, but lived it well.

I think as kids, Mr. Spock was everyone’s favourite character on Star Trek. He was certainly the most interesting. I can’t watch the old episodes without busting up laughing at the cheesy dialogue and William Shatner’s even cheesier acting. All that being said, Spock and Nimoy still bring a dignity to the show that has held up over the years.

Leonard’s final Tweet, a few days before he died:

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP (Live Long and Prosper)

Sounding gravelly, this is what Leonard Nimoy tells Piers Morgan of CNN in an interview about his COPD diagnosis. Nimoy disclosed this week that he has COPD, though he has not smoked in 30 years. I notice Nimoy has an oxygen apparatus on the table in front of him during the interview.

Nimoy emphasizes that it’s “never too early to quit.” He quit after a 30-year smoking habit, and it took 30 years for the COPD to show up.

“The damage is being done right now. Every day you light up a cigarette, you’re losing cells in your lungs,” Nimoy said. Never were wiser words spoken.

Nimoy said he was smoking two packs a day. He talks about the insane smoking advertising of his day — doctors actually endorsing cigarettes; and he also talks about how physically addicting cigarettes are and how difficult it was for him to stop. He also talks about how much cigarettes were ingrained into the culture 50, 60 years ago.

Part of the deviousness of smoking … even if you quit, the damage it does can come back to haunt you decades later. It’s heartbreaking that someone does the right thing … and still develops lung diseases years later. The best way to avoid that damage is to never start smoking to begin with.

Leonard Nimoy says he is feeling OK, but just cannot walk long distances. He issued his announcement after he was seen at an airport being pushed in a wheelchair and with a breathing tube. I know from personal experience they can do a lot to repair the damage done by COPD; they can’t cure it or make it go away, but they can get the lungs functioning better with various medications; I wish Nimoy the best.